


The King

by semipeaceful



Series: haikyuu x conan gray [4]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, F/M, M/M, One Shot, Post-Time Skip, and kageyama is suffering, hinata dates his way thru pretty setter squad, inspired by conan gray's the king, kageyama pines for five years, rated t for cursing and a few sexual references
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-21
Updated: 2020-07-21
Packaged: 2021-03-05 06:07:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,164
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25429639
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/semipeaceful/pseuds/semipeaceful
Summary: Hinata is dating and Kageyama is suffering.Loosely based off Conan Gray's song The King
Relationships: Hinata Shouyou/Kageyama Tobio, Hinata Shouyou/Kozume Kenma, Hinata Shouyou/Oikawa Tooru, Hinata Shouyou/Yachi Hitoka
Series: haikyuu x conan gray [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1753630
Comments: 6
Kudos: 190





	The King

**Author's Note:**

> I couldn't bring myself to finish the next chapter of The Rules, but I needed to write something to stop crying bc of the manga ending, so I finished this one finally! (Seriously chapter 402 killed me D: )

Kageyama Tobio was the king.

It was a phrase that was whispered behind his back at practice, muttered under breaths at tournaments, and, worst of all, said to his face.

He was the king. He was important. He was number one.

Hinata Shoyo, on the other hand, was a pain in Kageyama’s ass.

Hinata was small. He was annoying. He was dumb. Sometimes, he was too bright to look at without burning Kageyama’s retinas.

And Kageyama was horribly, stupidly, in love with him.

It took him the entirety of their first year for Kageyama to realize. Sometime in between that fateful game in middle school and nationals, something changed and that change resulted in him pulling Sugawara to one side at practice and asking him to check if he had a fever because his heart was racing and his face was flushed and he wasn’t sure why.

“I don’t think you have a fever,” Suga had said, wearing an expression that Kageyama didn’t entirely understand. “Does this have anything to do with the fact that Hinata just accidentally called you by your given name for the first time a few minutes ago?”

When Kageyama didn’t immediately say anything, Suga continued, “You should tell him.”

Kageyama spent his whole first year distancing himself from being the king. But still, he couldn’t deny the way his heart pounded when Hinata grinned at him and called him that god-forsaken nickname with the stupid towel crown.

He did  _ not  _ tell him. Instead, he bottled the feeling up and resigned himself to being happy as Hinata’s friend. His teammate. His number two.

“Hey, Kageyama? I need some advice… I think I like Yachi.”

Number two, because  _ Yachi  _ was his number one.

They were the third year power couple of the Karasuno Volleyball Club.

It didn’t upset him in the slightest when he saw them hold hands on the bus ride to practice matches, and no, he wasn’t glowering when Yamaguchi mentioned how cute of a couple the two made. In fact, it was good! It gave Kageyama time to get over Hinata.

But it was hard to get over someone who texted you more than their own girlfriend. Kageyama couldn’t count the time they’d called after practice, debating game strategy and talking about Yachi until they’d both fallen asleep without hanging up.

“Yachi broke up with me,” Hinata told him over the phone one day. “She might be a lesbian? She’s going through some stuff. Oh, but don’t worry, she said I could tell you, I’m not outing her.”

Yachi officially came out as a lesbian a few weeks later.

“I’m sorry,” Kageyama said, because it seemed like the appropriate response to one’s girlfriend not being attracted to you, although neither he nor Hinata sounded particularly  _ sorry  _ about it.

“Nah, it’s probably for the best. We’re still friends, and I’m not super sad about it.”

_ That should tell you something,  _ Kageyama thought, but he bit his tongue.  _ You were dating for four months. _

Hinata continued, oblivious. “Feels good to talk to you about it, though! Anyways, what’s the plan for our practice match against Date Tech tomorrow?”

So they talked. Well, mostly Hinata talked, and Kageyama responded in appropriate ways when Hinata stopped to take a breath until Kageyama asked a question and was answered by a loud snore.

“Hey Kageyama? I think I might be gay?”

Kageyama spluttered into his drink, milk spraying across his kitchen. His phone, tucked between his ear and his shoulder, shifted dangerously as he reached for something to clean it up.

“Or maybe bisexual,” Hinata bulldozed on. “Kenma asked me if he could kiss me today.”

“Uh,” Kageyama stammered, trying desperately to wipe down the table before the milk dried and it got sticky. “Wha-what did you say?”

“I said sure. I guess we’re going out now.”

Kenma and Hinata broke up a month later.

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine, I’m not upset about it. We’re still friends, I just didn’t like him in that way, you know?”

Sugawara wasn’t much help, either.

Kageyama would call him occasionally, asking for advice, especially with each new group of first years. It would never be easy for him, socializing and gaining the trust of his spikers, but Sugawara was an effective mentor, even if he didn’t continue playing volleyball after high school.

“I’m glad to hear that you got Asui’s perfect set down, but I have a feeling you didn’t call me to talk about volleyball.”

Mouth dry and drying still, Kageyama asked, “How could you tell?”

“Call it the vice captain’s intuition,” Suga hummed, sounding like he was trying not to laugh. “What’s really going on?”

“Hinata.”

“Ah. I heard about him and Kenma.” The other side of the line was quiet for a moment, and then Suga said, hesitantly, “If you want my opinion, that boy doesn’t quite know what he wants.”

“Oh.”

“Sorry, Kageyama, I have class, so I have to go, but we can talk again later, okay? Try not to kill him before Nationals.”

Apparently Hinata figured out what he wanted, because he was going to Rio. He was going to  _ Rio. _

They didn’t talk as much anymore. It was a side effect of the fact that Kageyama’s AM was Hinata’s PM and vice versa. Kageyama tried to ignore the ache in his chest everytime he went to sleep without hearing Hinata’s voice first. He also tried to ignore the sharper pang when he finally did get a call from Hinata.

“I miss you.”

“I miss you too.” The words came easily,  _ too  _ easily, and they slipped out before Kageyama could think twice about it.

But then Hinata would have to go to work, or practice, or Kageyama’s training break would be over, and they were part far too early for Kageyama’s liking.

Everytime he got a text from Hinata, his heart jumped with the buzz of his phone.

His phone buzzed once, but his heart buzzed twice when he saw the picture.

“I got your text.”

“Nice to hear from you too, Kageyama,” Hinata said, dryly, through the distant sounds of the city. Of all the ways Hinata changed since high school, Kageyama didn’t appreciate his newfound knowledge of sarcasm. “How are things?”

“Fine,” Kageyama gritted out. “You?”

“I’ve been wonderful, thank you for asking!” Hinata exclaimed, sounding satisfied with the barest trace of small talk he’d managed to gleam from his friend. “Anyways, yeah, I saw Oikawa! We played some beach matches together…” He trailed off, but Kageyama heard the unsaid  _ and _ .

When Hinata didn’t elaborate, he probed, “And?”

“And… we might have hooked up.”

At least for his part, Hinata sounded sheepish, but the admission had Kageyama wheezing. Ushijima gave him a strange look as he changed for morning practice, but Kageyama waved him off.

“Kageyama? Helloooo?”

Kageyama cleared his throat, trying to recover from Hinata’s revelation. “Sorry, uh, that’s just a lot to process.”

“Yeah, it was definitely an experience. It’s just a one time thing, though. I don’t know, I don’t think casual relationships and I work well together and I didn’t really like him in that way, you know?”

“Sure.”

“And I have to say, his sets were amazing, but... I miss yours.”

Kageyama wasn’t sure where the connection between Hinata’s  _ sex life  _ and Kageyama’s volleyball tosses intersected in Hinata’s weird-ass brain, so the shift took him a moment to readjust.

“Really?”

“Yeah,” Hinata’s voice was soft, hesitant, probably still tainted by the embarrassing admission about him and Oikawa. “I miss playing with you. And talking to you. Face to face.”

“Me too.”

“It’s good to talk to you… it's been lonely here. I haven’t told anyone else this… not even Yachi, but… I’m struggling a little. Honestly, I don’t why I’m even telling  _ you  _ this, it's not like you can do anything about that, but talking to you just seems to lift a weight off my shoulders-”

“You’re rambling.”

Hinata cleared his throat and let out a little laugh. “Right. Thanks. Anyways, I have to go, my wallet got stolen so I should probably go deal with that.”

“Your  _ what?! _ ”

Kageyama was informed of Hinata’s return to volleyball in Japan by a selfie of him, Bokuto, and Atsumu on an Instagram post. On Hinata’s sweatshirt was the Black Jackals logo. Kageyama decided to focus on that, and not the flutter in his gut when he saw how incredibly tan and  _ toned _ his friend had gotten and definitely not the shot of jealousy when he noticed Miya’s hand on Hinata’s hip.

Was Atsumu gay? In all honesty, Kageyama didn’t know much about the other setter, despite their training camps together. He didn’t think he was gay, but he didn’t think that Oikawa or Kenma or Yachi were gay either and yet here they were.

What did it matter, anyways? Hinata wasn’t  _ his,  _ no matter how desperately Kageyama wanted him to be (and part of him hoped Hinata wanted him too). He had no right to feel disappointed that he was no longer Hinata’s favorite setter. His number one.

His king.

He dialed Suga.

“Look, my kids are on a break right now, so I have to be quick about this, but…” Suga trailed off, hesitating for a brief second, before plowing with his statement. “I still don’t think Hinata knows what he wants. He’s dated these people, Yachi, Kenma, Oikawa-”

“Atsumu.” Kageyama muttered, but he wasn’t actually 100% certain about that one.

“Sure, yeah, he’s dated all of these people and he’s never been upset at them ending it. He’s very… flippant about it all. If I had to guess, either he’s on the aro/ace spectrum and doesn’t realize it yet, or he’s hung up on someone else. Possibly, even, without realizing it.”

“You think…?”

“It’s just a guess,” Suga corrected. “Kageyama, you have to tell him.”

Well, even if Kageyama wanted to tell Hinata, he wouldn’t have a chance, because the season kicked up and suddenly the day of the Adler’s vs Black Jackals game was  _ today. _

It was  _ today  _ and the first time Kageyama had seen Hinata in the last two years and Atsumu had a generous arm over Hinata’s shoulders and an enthusiastic hand ruffling his tangerine hair.

His stomach rolled more than Hinata’s during his pre-game stomach-ache after hearing Atsumu refer to Hinata as  _ his  _ spiker.

Kageyama had spent years of his life, years of his volleyball career, distancing himself from  _ The King.  _ From the nickname that haunted him, that declared his sense of self-importance, his obsession with control.

He was no longer  _ The King. _ He was Kageyama, he was #20, he was Schweiden Adler’s starting setter, and he was more than happy with that. He had outgrown the title the same time that Hinata had outgrown  _ The Little Giant. _

But there was a small part of him. A small, small, part of him that hoped that he was still  _ The King  _ to  _ Hinata. _

After the game, Yamaguchi dragged the rest of their group out for dinner. Actually, Yamaguchi dragged Tsukishima and Hinata dragged Kageyama and Yachi watched with an amused expression and soft giggles.

Being around Hinata was hard, but not nearly as hard as  _ not  _ being around Hinata.

“How was Rio?” Yachi asked as soon as the group had settled at a table. “I feel like we barely ever talked!”

Hinata rubbed the back of his neck with a sheepish grin. “Sorry, it got pretty hectic. Between training on the beach and practicing on the indoor court and my delivery job… plus the time zone difference… but Rio was great!”

“Well, you look great!” Yamaguchi added enthusiastically, and Kageyama ignored the heart palpitation.

“Thanks!”

Hinata glanced his way, he’d been doing that a lot that night, and Kageyama let himself believe for a moment that he was gauging Kageyama’s own reaction to his change in physique.

Then Hinata looked away and changed the subject to ask Tsukishima about what it was like to play with Mad Dog from Aoba Johsai, much to Tsukishima’s dismay.

Then night went on, and Kageyama didn’t know  _ how  _ they got there, but after a few too many bottles of sake and nosy prodding from the more enthusiastic members of the group, Yachi was bragging about her new girlfriend.

“What about you, Shoyo?” Yachi asked after apparently realizing, with flushed cheeks, that she had dominated the conversation for more than a few minutes. “Did you meet someone in Brazil?”

“Nope,” Hinata said, with a flippant laugh. “Nothing romantic, just a lot of new friends!”

“What about…” Kageyama trailed off as Hinata’s eyes widened and he gestured for him to shut up and Kageyama realized with a shock that Hinata hadn’t told anyone else about his brief stint with the  _ Grand King  _ in Rio. He cleared his throat. “Nevermind.”

Tsukishima watched the interaction with a raised eyebrow, the most curiosity he had shown all night, but moved on with a shrug when Yamaguchi brought up Miya Osamu and his onigiri shop.

Why had Hinata only told  _ him _ ? It wasn’t like he was the only one Hinata was close to, he told Kageyama that he and Yachi found time every week to talk on the phone. What made Kageyama different from the others?

Dinner ended with excuses of having class in the morning and forced hugs from Yachi and Yamaguchi. Kageyama waved as the three college seniors left the restaurant, but Hinata caught his sleeve before he could leave, too.

“Wanna go play?”

_ Yes. More than anything yes. _

“Where are we going to play at this time of night?” Was what came out of his mouth instead, but Hinata just grinned and motioned for him to follow.

Like a fool, he did.

They walked in silence for the most part, other than Hinata making dumb observations and Kageyama pointing out that the observations were dumb. Just like old times. After a few minutes, though, curiosity overwhelmed him and Kageyama couldn’t keep his stupid mouth shut.

“So… are you and Atsumu… like… together?”

Hinata’s eyebrows shot up, but he looked more amused than surprised. “Together? What makes you think that?”

“I don’t know…” Kageyama didn’t know how to say that it seemed like Hinata had a clear type and Atsumu fit that (one) criteria.

“Wait…” Hinata skidded to a stop, forcing Kageyama to turn back to him. “Are you  _ jealous _ ?”

Kageyama hoped his cheeks were flushed from the sake. “No! Idiot, why would I be jealous?”

Instead of answering, Hinata just laughed and continued to walk, leaving Kageyama to play catch up behind him.

As it turns out, Hinata had a connection at a local gym that made an exception and opened after hours for him. Kageyama ignored how excited he got when he realized that Hinata  _ planned  _ this.

On the court was a volleyball net and a basket of balls, so Kageyama shed his jacket and jogged to the center of the court with Hinata not too far behind.

It took two balls to adjust to Hinata’s new skill level. His jumps were higher than high school, and somehow, he was even faster. It pained the selfish part of Kageyama that Hinata had trained to be like this by the side of another setter, but it thrilled the rest of him when he realized that he worked that hard to beat  _ Kageyama _ .

After those first few sets, they settled into an easy rhythm. Toss, set, spike. Repeat.

The basket was halfway empty when Hinata hesitated on his toss. He bounced on his heels, moving the ball between his hands. Finally, he said, “I wasn’t lying when I said your sets are the best. There’s something different about playing with you then playing with Atsumu, or Oikawa, or Kenma.”

“Every setter plays differently,” Kageyama said, instead of acknowledging the flip of his stomach.

“I guess.”

They kept playing. They played until Hinata was holding the last ball, and they were done. They’d learned since high school, and they knew not to push their bodies too far anymore, so it only took a second of silent communication to begin picking up the balls to get ready to leave.

Still, as Kageyama dropped a ball into the cart, his mind was elsewhere. Elsewhere, wading through the complex history of his and Hinata’s relationship. Everytime he went to Suga for advice, everytime they fell asleep on the phone, everytime Hinata accepted the end of a relationship with a shrug and a smile.

_ Your sets are better than his, though. _

_ He’s hung up on someone, possibly without even realizing it. _

_ I haven’t told anyone else that. Not even Yachi. _

Hope, like the mascot of their alma mater, fluttered to life inside him. A flap of its dark wings everytime Hinata glanced his way. 

Maybe Suga was wrong. Maybe  _ Kageyama  _ was wrong.

_ I wasn’t lying when I said your sets are the best. _

“Well,” Hinata said with a yawn, stretching his arms in a way that revealed a sliver of skin between his pants and shirt. “I should probably head back to the hotel.”

Before his brain could catch up with his mouth, Kageyama heard himself say, “Wait.”

“Why?” Hinata asked, but paused anyways, bouncing in place and looking up at Kageyama with a tilted head.

Kageyama knew he was red under the fluorescent lights, and it was obvious that it  _ wasn’t  _ the sake this time. “Because I think you love me.”

Silence.

Painful silence as Hinata seemed to process Kageyama’s words, and then his face split into a brighter-than-the-sun smirk.

“Kageyama, while I’ve personally never been the one confessing in this situation, I don’t think that’s how this usually goes.”

“Shut up.”

Surprisingly, Hinata did, instead grinning up at Kageyama with his stupidly bright expression and his stupid tangerine hair and newfound tan and Kageyama was  _ gone. _

“I like you,” Kageyama continued, somehow finding the courage to keep talking. “I have ever since high school. And… I think you do too. I think that you never liked all those people you’ve dated, at least not romantically, because, deep down, you’re in love with me.”

“Kageyama…” Hinata’s smile faltered for a moment, and Kageyama braced for the rejection.  _ He was stupid, he shouldn’t have listened to Sugawara, what had he been thinking? _

But then Hinata’s smile was back, and he strode over to Kageyama in exactly three steps, yanked Kageyama down to his level with the collar of his shirt, and kissed him.

Hinata kissed like he played volleyball. Enthusiastically, passionately, and with every inch of his being.

And Kageyama was giddy. He was giddy, and Hinata’s gloriously tanned arms were looped around his neck and everything was  _ bright _ , but not from the fluorescent lights.

Finally, they parted, and Hinata was looking up at him with the same eyes that Kageyama had fallen in love with all those years ago. Breathless, he asked, “Was I right?”

“Of course, you idiot,” Hinata beamed, and Kageyama wanted to kiss that stupid expression off his face. “None of them could ever compare to my king.”

**Author's Note:**

> Look me in the eyes and tell me Hinata and Oikawa didn't fuck in Rio. Exactly. You can't. Anyyyways, I've been hyped to write this for a hella long time and I finally got around to finishing it, so yay! Check out my tumblr, oikawa-tuwu ! Thanks for reading! :D


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